Bioware, You Want to Resuscitate This Game? Then Implement The Following.

[ikinai]

You haven't shown me anything.

 

SWTOR competes against WoW NOW. I don't understand why you can't get this.

 

When people are playing they are thinking about the new WoW expansion, not the Vanilla 7 years ago.

 

Are you going to continue this thought process 40 years down the road.

 

"Well I mean look at WoW, it didn't have everything perfect."

 

This is 7 years into the future of MMO gaming. Things are different and have evolved.

 

Yet, you still don't understand do you? If this game were being released by the WoW development team, then yes I would say it is a fair comparison. But this is not being released by them now is it? Therefore you have to compare release to release, do you understand that? I would think that you would, that you wouldn't compare two dissimilar things. Perhaps you would compare a seven year old to a newborn, but that just doesn't make any sense logically when what you are talking about is how they were when they were born.

[Evilmog]

How many people here remember exactly how boring the WoW vanilla was, pre-MC here. Strat / Scholo back in the day was just retardedly easy. The fact that it's possible to wipe on nightmare EV still alone is enough to keep me entertained.

 

That aside, I have to agree with everything mentioned in the 1st post. Maybe not so much the combat responsiveness, I don't have that issue. And I usually play at ~100ms.

 

The combat log though, yes yes and I'll say it again YES. As a tank it's nice to know how hard something can hit me for to relay it to the healers, instead of trying to remember a red number I got to see for a fraction of a second.

[Treyzorz]

Yet, you still don't understand do you? If this game were being released by the WoW development team, then yes I would say it is a fair comparison. But this is not being released by them now is it? Therefore you have to compare release to release, do you understand that? I would think that you would, that you wouldn't compare two dissimilar things. Perhaps you would compare a seven year old to a newborn, but that just doesn't make any sense logically when what you are talking about is how they were when they were born.

 

Ok, I'll do this much for you.

 

Compare them side by side at release date.

 

WoW. 2004. Going against EQ2 which also new.

 

SWTOR. 2011-12. Going against the most massive MMO in history WoW with 10 million subs and a brand new expansion to beat out the competition.

 

There you have it. What information you are seeking is apparently not relevant to this post. Thank you for your time.

 

Your mind cannot be changed and I will not bother with it anymore.

Edited January 4, 2012 by Treyzorz

[GrinR]

I couldn't agree more with OP. Much of the game feels like people from 2004 designed it, without any experience of the world past that point.

[Treyzorz]

I wish people would be realistic. There's no way this massive shopping list will be done in a month.

 

A lot of these are specific desires tailored to a specific group. Any MMO developer worth their salt would say 'sure, later' and fix the important bugs first. Indeed a third of the list is basically 'get better at being an MMO developer' which isn't even constructive. I think any idiot is going to try and do that.

 

Sure, I would happily see most of these in the game, but there's nothing like a priority order on these issues, and most of that's opinion. GTN, mail disappearance, ability delay, these are majorly important.

 

Space overhaul? Dissolve PvP bracket? Server forums? Yeah, not quick things to fix and very controversial. Your opinion doesn't make these either top priority nor necessarily right or popular.

 

Things like space overhaul and the forum server are not necessary by any means, but use your best judgement in that significant list to weed out what are and most are MAJOR.

 

Most of those should of been implemented day 1 which is the issue.

 

Things like ability delay are already in other threads and covered and are equally if not more important.

 

For a new game, SWTOR has very few game-breaking bugs and for that, I applaud them. But for some reason they took out those bugs at the cost of certain core functions that are staple to any MMO.

[GrinR]

 

Bioware MUST implement the following

 

THE LIST:

 

- Chat bubbles (with the option to disable for those of us who are introverted within the community, myself included.)

 

Don't see how this is a must. It's a useful feature to help along the social aspect of the game and it has some benefit in group play but you have to be a bit of a muppet to quit a game because it doesnt have chat bubbles. I can honestly say their abscence has not caused me one single problem in playing this game. No deffinately not a must.

 

- Add a combat log. I will say this again. ADD A COMBAT LOG. IT IS A *MUST!* A combat log is needed for damage/healing/tank mitigation parses. If you are serious about having guilds progress in non-mediocre PvE content, these are essential.

 

Again, nice feature buit not a must and to be honest not desirable. What will happen is some sad basement dwelling nerds will start excluding people from playing the game because they dont have enough healing or enough dps. Pathetic gear score scumbags not required thank you very much.

 

- ADD TARGET OF TARGET into the game.

 

Again, nice feature but not a must. Its not hard to target someone elses target, You have a thing called eyes, look at who they are attacking, and then attack them. The glowing lightsabers and the laser beams make it real easy for you.

 

- Fix bugs in general, but most importantly the ones pertaining to the mail system (where an item can be lost forever if the bug occurs.)

 

Yes, click your heels together three times and say The Bugs Are Fixed, The Bugs are Fixed and they will all just go away. I would imagine they are working on them and they will be fixed when they are fixed.

 

- Add a fail safe (purchase confirmation) to item purchases and skill learns. Many people have lost commendations/credits for accidentally misclicking while using a high-sensitivity/DPI mouse and purchasing the wrong item.

 

Not a must in anyway shape or form. Learn to be more careful. Its only a game, if you make a mistake and lose some credits the bailifs arnt going to come round and reposses your house.

 

- Overhaul the auction house system (GTN.) Add a search option, remove the 50 item limit on your auctions, and add bid/buyout functionality that isn't feudalistic and outdated.

 

Reduce the limit to 25. Stops people farming. Heck, make it 10.

 

- SERVER FORUMS. THIS IS A MUST TO ENSURE THAT A STRONG SERVER-COMMUNITY MANIFESTS ITSELF!

 

SERVER FORUMS WILL NOT MAKE STRONG COMMUNITIES. THEY HELP, BUT THE GAME NEEDS MORE THAN THAT. TYPING IN CAPS MIGHT DO IT THOUGH

 

- More camera options. THE OPTION TO DISABLE "SMART CAMERA PIVOT" SHOULD BE IMPLEMENTED!

 

You know, the first thing I though when I logged in to this game was OMG NOT ENOUGH CAMERA OPTIONS. Actually thats a lie. No I didnt and at no point on any subsequent day did I think that.

 

- Implement a threat parse so that tanks can actually gage how much threat they have on targets. Right now, they are in the dark and they have a disproportionally stressful job. I can personally testify that I don't know a single person, nor do I think such a person exists or is common, that appreciates the current system of things pertaining to threat.

 

Am I doing enough threat? Are the mobs hitting me or someone else? I know these yes or no problems can be challenging for some people but again, dont see it as a must.

 

- An LFG system over-haul. I'm not saying it should be automated and teleport you to the location of whatever it is you're doing like WoW does, but there needs to be increased support for this. Perhaps introducing a channel with some extra features dedicated to creating groups would do it.

 

So you want a social game where everyone talks but you want to take away about the only thing you ever see people talking about in the game. Again, nice feature but hardly a must. People are manging to type, LFG Nerds Basement and people are managing to type, I'll come (cos every sane human wants to kill nerds, thats 99.99 re-occuring of course fact.)

 

- Improve your servers so that you do not have to create two separate instances for a mere 50 people in a SINGLE sub-zone. That is just asinine and removes the social/community atmosphere from the game. I bought an MMORPG, not a single-player Mass Effect RPG.

 

No, you THOUGHT you were buying an MMORPG - fooled ya

 

 

I'll call it quits there as it was such a long list of whining. None, NONE, of what you posted is a 'MUST' for the game. This game works. Its playable. We dont need same thing different skin, this isnt and never should be WOW in Space. What you've listed is your preferences. They may be other peoples preferences as well but the only time something MUST be done is when something is broken or there is an inbalance that makes the game unplayable. We dont have that in any significant way.

 

Some of the things you've listed would be nice to have and can be added over time. NONE of it was essential. If you dont like teh game shuffle on. I dont like wow that much, so I dont play it. This game doesnt have problems, it has potential.

 

 

Not one of your rebuttal points makes a shred of sense. Something tells me you're one of those people who enjoy EQ1 and EVE because for you the "game" is overcoming the challenges presented by the interface.

[DemonicFerret]

Yet, you still don't understand do you? If this game were being released by the WoW development team, then yes I would say it is a fair comparison. But this is not being released by them now is it? Therefore you have to compare release to release, do you understand that? I would think that you would, that you wouldn't compare two dissimilar things. Perhaps you would compare a seven year old to a newborn, but that just doesn't make any sense logically when what you are talking about is how they were when they were born.

 

Products are compared to similar products that exist at the same time, in the same market. For example, I just got a new off-brand MP3 player - it's functional, but it lacks many of the features of an iPod. But by your logic, since it's brand new, I have to compare it to what iPods were like when THEY were first released. Well, this horrible, badly designed MP3 player is actually quite impressive compared to the 2001 iPod, therefore it is a better product. Does that make sense?

[ikinai]

Products are compared to similar products that exist at the same time, in the same market. For example, I just got a new off-brand MP3 player - it's functional, but it lacks many of the features of an iPod. But by your logic, since it's brand new, I have to compare it to what iPods were like when THEY were first released. Well, this horrible, badly designed MP3 player is actually quite impressive compared to the 2001 iPod, therefore it is a better product. Does that make sense?

 

If it is their first attempt at making an MP3 player, yes.

[DemonicFerret]

If it is their first attempt at making an MP3 player, yes.

 

So you would be willing to buy a 2001 iPod for the same price as a 2011 iPod if it was being released by a company that had never made an MP3 player before?

[ikinai]

So you would be willing to buy a 2001 iPod for the same price as a 2011 iPod if it was being released by a company that had never made an MP3 player before?

 

No, I would buy what I wanted and do research before hand and not get ripped off.

[DemonicFerret]

No, I would buy what I wanted and do research before hand and not get ripped off.

 

Yeah. You would buy the better product, and not get ripped off. That's the point. How much experience the designers have is irrelevant, SWTOR has to be a better product than the other options available if it's going to succeed.

[Jahithber]

I understand where this guy is coming from. He's expecting this to be more common with other MMO's. The thing is, and one I am grateful for, is that this is its own game. It is what it is UI-wise. As for the complaining about the graphical glitches and such, keep in mind, this game isn't even a month old yet. I mean come on, this has been the smoothes launch of any MMO I have ever played. For there to be as few bug as there are without having to shut the whole server net down, it is impressive.

 

If you can't handle BioWare taking their time to fix things properly, then don't play. Go back to whatever game keeps you from raging. It's not worth losing one's mind over. I'm not saying this to flame anyone, it just seems pointless to complain about it instead of being patient and letting the company fix the issues at hand. It's not like they can just fix everything with the wave of a magic wand.

 

In other words relax, be patient, or move on to something else while the rest enjoy a great Star Wars game.

 

~Enigma

[ikinai]

Yeah. You would buy the better product, and not get ripped off. That's the point. How much experience the designers have is irrelevant, SWTOR has to be a better product than the other options available if it's going to succeed.

 

But you still compare software releases to software releases. You cannot compare an established title to a new one, unless you want to be nit-picky. But as far as a MMO goes, you compare the initial release to the initial release, which one did better at release? Which one had more bugs? Of course if all you want to do is shine a light on how great WoW is currently then by all means do so. But, if you want to see how each faired at release then that is what you must compare each one to.

[DemonicFerret]

I understand where this guy is coming from. He's expecting this to be more common with other MMO's. The thing is, and one I am grateful for, is that this is its own game. It is what it is UI-wise. As for the complaining about the graphical glitches and such, keep in mind, this game isn't even a month old yet. I mean come on, this has been the smoothes launch of any MMO I have ever played. For there to be as few bug as there are without having to shut the whole server net down, it is impressive.

 

If you can't handle BioWare taking their time to fix things properly, then don't play. Go back to whatever game keeps you from raging. It's not worth losing one's mind over. I'm not saying this to flame anyone, it just seems pointless to complain about it instead of being patient and letting the company fix the issues at hand. It's not like they can just fix everything with the wave of a magic wand.

 

In other words relax, be patient, or move on to something else while the rest enjoy a great Star Wars game.

 

~Enigma

 

I like SWTOR a lot too - I wouldn't bother complaining about its flaws if I didn't want to see them fixed. My point, and I think OPs point as well, is that SWTOR isn't going to get seven years to become great, like WoW did. WoW is already an incredibly polished game, and the market isn't going to "be patient" for very long.

[Treyzorz]

I like SWTOR a lot too - I wouldn't bother complaining about its flaws if I didn't want to see them fixed. My point, and I think OPs point as well, is that SWTOR isn't going to get seven years to become great, like WoW did. WoW is already an incredibly polished game, and the market isn't going to "be patient" for very long.

 

Thank you for seeing the point.

 

And this market does not like patience AT ALL. Withing 30-60 days is the most crucial for MMOs and it's make or break.

 

I understand where this guy is coming from. He's expecting this to be more common with other MMO's. The thing is, and one I am grateful for, is that this is its own game. It is what it is UI-wise. As for the complaining about the graphical glitches and such, keep in mind, this game isn't even a month old yet. I mean come on, this has been the smoothes launch of any MMO I have ever played. For there to be as few bug as there are without having to shut the whole server net down, it is impressive.

 

If you can't handle BioWare taking their time to fix things properly, then don't play. Go back to whatever game keeps you from raging. It's not worth losing one's mind over. I'm not saying this to flame anyone, it just seems pointless to complain about it instead of being patient and letting the company fix the issues at hand. It's not like they can just fix everything with the wave of a magic wand.

 

In other words relax, be patient, or move on to something else while the rest enjoy a great Star Wars game.

 

~Enigma

 

You will not hold that same mentality when players leave in droves.

 

The era of wait for it to be fixed is over. Customers are not exactly the most understanding of people when they are spending their hard-earned cash.

 

If BioWare is not up to the task, they shouldn't have done this in the first place.

 

There is a reason why WoW releases expansions every time a new and threatening MMO comes out. They make BANK on failed MMOS.

Edited January 4, 2012 by Treyzorz

[Albinobeard]

Agree with every point the OP made in his first post. I would say that bug-fixes are what need to be prioritized first though, as you progress towards level 50 the bugs become more rampant and operations even on normal are plagued by issues, heck even hard-mode flashpoints are stricken with issues. I'm sorry to the players that haven't got to this point in the game and don't get to see the true quality of the overall product but unfortunately a lot of the end-game content falls short of what I would consider reasonable. It really does feel like this game was pushed out the door to meet a deadline. I really do hope that Bioware can recover from this and fix the issues that exist in a timely fashion. I do love the atmosphere of this game and there are qualities of this game that are far better than other MMOs out on the market currently but so many other aspects of the game bring this product down.

 

TL;DR Bioware could make this game great if they focused on fixing the content they already have and adding in features that its main competition has had for months if not years.

[DemonicFerret]

But you still compare software releases to software releases. You cannot compare an established title to a new one, unless you want to be nit-picky. But as far as a MMO goes, you compare the initial release to the initial release, which one did better at release? Which one had more bugs? Of course if all you want to do is shine a light on how great WoW is currently then by all means do so. But, if you want to see how each faired at release then that is what you must compare each one to.

 

I will happily agree that SWTOR has had a better launch than WoW did. But you DO compare established titles to new ones. That's just economics. WoW was successful even with its bad launch because it was superior to the other options at the time, and that's why they had seven years to fix their game. In competition with WoW and other upcoming MMOs, SWTOR is not going to survive for seven years, so it doesn't matter how great a game it could be in that amount of time. It needs to become better SOON.

[ikinai]

I will happily agree that SWTOR has had a better launch than WoW did. But you DO compare established titles to new ones. That's just economics. WoW was successful even with its bad launch because it was superior to the other options at the time, and that's why they had seven years to fix their game. In competition with WoW and other upcoming MMOs, SWTOR is not going to survive for seven years, so it doesn't matter how great a game it could be in that amount of time. It needs to become better SOON.

 

Only for people such as yourself, you make it a self fulfilling prophecy with your impatience. By saying idiotic stuff like it needs to get better SOON, as if soon means anything. Are there things that need corrected? Of course there are, is the game broken and unplayable? No it is not, most people are enjoying the game, the small minority here on the forums do not represent the majority of players.

[SwagFather]

They really should add chat bubbles.

 

You are asking for too much in a lot of places though.

[Treyzorz]

Only for people such as yourself, you make it a self fulfilling prophecy with your impatience. By saying idiotic stuff like it needs to get better SOON, as if soon means anything. Are there things that need corrected? Of course there are, is the game broken and unplayable? No it is not, most people are enjoying the game, the small minority here on the forums do not represent the majority of players.

 

That mindset of the players changes quickly after the 30-60 day period. They start looking at the lack of things to do, get bored or focus on the negative.

 

All the while, WoW is knocking at the door going "~heyyyy, we have pandass and pokeemooonnn. Come play wiiithhh ussss."

[Ellipsys]

Adding a new one - Please finish providing graphics for secondary weapons/items.

 

As an Operative, most of my damage is done by my Vibroknife. However, it has NO presence in the game world. No graphic - I can't draw or holster it, brandish/wield it etc... or anything. It doesn't even change the graphic of the knife-using abilities; from level 1-50 Agents have the same bloody graphic. Even worse, we have a fake pistol magically appear on our hips during conversations, despite the fact we can't use pistols in game. Its just bloody unacceptable that a wieldable weapon/item, in an item slot, should not have in-game graphics in a game with such a large budget. Scoundrels and their scatterguns, shield generators, focus items etc... all have zero graphics and that's just plain wrong and makes the game look horribly unfinished.

 

Imagine if in WoW there was no graphic for equipped bows/arrows, guns, throwing weapons, shields, relics/totems ,or offhand caster focus items - if a Hunter conjured a generic bow graphic when they used their ability that was unchanging regardless of level? Unbelievable and really frustrating that SWTOR has missed so many of the "little things". "Theme Park MMO Design 101" states that players tightly tie having new gear with advancing graphics to their play experience and SWTOR has hamstringed that a level way, way below most recent MMOs from WoW to RIFT and beyond.

 

I cite this because it is something fixable, but only if the team realizes its importance and gets to work. Any weapon/wieldable in the game that isn't a Lightsaber, Pistol, or Rifle is basically unfinished.

[Treyzorz]

Adding a new one - Please finish providing graphics for secondary weapons/items.

 

As an Operative, most of my damage is done by my Vibroknife. However, it has NO presence in the game world. No graphic - I can't draw or holster it, brandish/wield it etc... or anything. It doesn't even change the graphic of the knife-using abilities; from level 1-50 Agents have the same bloody graphic. Even worse, we have a fake pistol magically appear on our hips during conversations, despite the fact we can't use pistols in game. Its just bloody unacceptable that a wieldable weapon/item, in an item slot, should not have in-game graphics in a game with such a large budget. Scoundrels and their scatterguns, shield generators, focus items etc... all have zero graphics and that's just plain wrong and makes the game look horribly unfinished.

 

Imagine if in WoW there was no graphic for equipped bows/arrows, guns, throwing weapons, shields, relics/totems ,or offhand caster focus items - if a Hunter conjured a generic bow graphic when they used their ability that was unchanging regardless of level? Unbelievable and really frustrating that SWTOR has missed so many of the "little things". "Theme Park MMO Design 101" states that players tightly tie having new gear with advancing graphics to their play experience and SWTOR has hamstringed that a level way, way below most recent MMOs from WoW to RIFT and beyond.

 

I cite this because it is something fixable, but only if the team realizes its importance and gets to work. Any weapon/wieldable in the game that isn't a Lightsaber, Pistol, or Rifle is basically unfinished.

 

Yet an additional aspect that should of been there day 1. They obviously didn't organize themselves in the development phase.

 

It feels as though they released this beautiful world, but you are sitting behind a wall of glass looking out into it. It's just all the little things and core foundation of the game that are missing really start to suck out of the life and show flaws.

[ikinai]

That mindset of the players changes quickly after the 30-60 day period. They start looking at the lack of things to do, get bored or focus on the negative.

 

All the while, WoW is knocking at the door going "~heyyyy, we have pandass and pokeemooonnn. Come play wiiithhh ussss."

 

If they came from WoW, which I still have two subs there as well as my sub for SW:ToR, and are running out of things to do and are considering going back to WoW, they won't find much to do there either currently. In fact there are some rather ingenious bugs with the new dark moon fair that are occurring and getting quite a few players ire up. As that is about the only new thing for anyone to do in that game until Pandas are released.

[clench]

I can't wait till all the people defending this game finally reach lvl50 only to find there is nothing to do.

 

 

You'll be sitting around the PvP terminal playing with yourself like the rest of us wishing you didn't waste your money on that CE.

[ikinai]

I can't wait till all the people defending this game finally reach lvl50 only to find there is nothing to do.

 

 

You'll be sitting around the PvP terminal playing with yourself like the rest of us wishing you didn't waste your money on that CE.

 

Well, that's what happens when you rush through dinner. You have to wait for the rest of us to finish until you get your dessert. I started the first day of early access, I just hit level 30. Learn to pace yourself